The Merits of the Case

Today is the first day of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Chicago Tribune ran an interesting article this morning about a new survey commissioned by the National Breast Cancer Coalition which suggests that “awareness” is not where we should be focusing our efforts. I think that makes sense…everyone is certainly aware of breast cancer at this point. The pink ribbon marketing fever seems to be everywhere these days; the market is saturated with pink. The president of the NBCC says that education is the key, and that education should begin by dispelling some myths about breast cancer that people hold.

Here are a few of the myths listed in the article:

• Most breast cancer cases are caused by heredity.
o FALSE! Only 5-10% of breast cancers are caused by a gene. 90-95% of breast cancer cases are NOT hereditary, even if you have breast cancer in your family.

• Breast cancer can be prevented by eating enough fruits and vegetables.
o FALSE! There is no good evidence that this is true. (Personally, I think it can’t hurt to make healthy lifestyle choices as far as diet and exercise go, even if that hasn’t been proven to prevent cancer.)

• Breast cancer can be prevented.
o FALSE! There are a few things women can do to reduce the risk of developing the disease (such as not drinking alcohol or taking hormones), but the risk can’t be eliminated altogether.

• Self-exams and mammograms prevent death from breast cancer.
o FALSE! Self-exams and mammograms reduce the risk of dying of breast cancer, but they do not prevent death from breast cancer. Finding it early is not always enough to save our lives. In addition, mammography screening is less effective in younger women (under 40) than in older women.

Here are some other facts about breast cancer from the NBCC website:

• More women in the United States are living with breast cancer than any other cancer (excluding skin cancer).

• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the U.S, after lung cancer.

• Factors that increase a woman's risk of breast cancer include older age, genetic factors, family history of breast or ovarian cancer, long menstrual history, nulliparity (having no children), older than 30 years of age at first full-term pregnancy, daily alcohol consumption, use of combined postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT), postmenopausal obesity, and ionizing radiation. Factors that decrease a woman's risk of breast cancer include breast-feeding and physical activity (exercise).

• Although scientists have discovered some risk factors for breast cancer, the known risk factors account for only a small percentage (~30%) of breast cancer cases. There are few interventions with limited value that reduce risk, and none of them prevent breast cancer.

The NBCC’s website is a great site to visit to learn more about breast cancer. You can read more facts about breast cancer here, and here is their home page.

Click here to read a great post about breast cancer by my friend Ree.

Click here to read WhyMommy's post about IBC.